Madhur Jaffrey’s Pressure Cooker Dal (Dal Makkhani) Recipe (2024)

I'll bite, what is "urad with skin?" I've looked at the recipe notes and don't see it... thank you anyone!

When I prepare dal, I make cashew cream in lieu of heavy cream. 3/4 cup raw cashews blended with 3/4 cup water. Delicious!

The Urad is a small, black lentil. They almost look like mini black beans. I find them in Asian Markets.

I made this with instant pot. I cooked the tarka first inside the IP and then the beans with all the masala. I substituted heavy cream with whole milk (for dal makhani) since I usually don’t have heavy cream whenever I wanted to make this. With IP, I don’t soak the beans. Cooked it for 30 min. It turned out great. My Indian husband loved it and almost polished it off.

In a pressure cooker-fry black cardamom in olive oil for a couple minutes. Add half-1 whole red onion chopped and fry til translucent. Add a few pieces of garlic chopped and a 2 inch piece of ginger chopped and cook a few minutes. Add a couple tsp ground turmeric and cook for a min. Salt throughout to taste. Add a can of chopped tomatoes and cook til juices dry up. Add 1 lb soaked kidney beans and water a little above beans. Cook 30 min. add garam masala and cilantro serve with rice and yogurt

This recipe is delicious & the first time I'd successfully made Dal Makkhani at home, after loving it at restaurants.-I'd advise less water than 4 cups, it turns out a little thin for me.-If you don't have overnight to soak the beans, give them a 5-minute pre-cook in plenty of water in the pressure cooker. Let steam release naturally for 15 mins at least then release. Drain and rinse the beans and then they're ready for this recipe.-An immersion blender is more efficient than a potato masher.

I’ve made this several times, and because I’m lazy, I use black lentils (not traditional, but easier to find) and 1 can kidney beans (drained). I don’t soak either, and just put into the IP for 30 minutes and follow the same directions after pressure release. I’ve also used frozen minced ginger in place of fresh and it works wonderfully. This has become a quarantine staple for my husband and I! All hail Queen Madhur!

I’m very surprised that no one has mentioned that this recipe calls for double the water you need. I believe if you make that the one simple change will make big difference in taste. Adding a cinnamon stick and three or more cardamom pods is also nice.

Busick-Smith, urad is a type of dal (legume). You can get it in Indian grocery stores, sometimes in well-stocked natural foods stores (try the bulk bins), or on-line. "With the skin" simply means that the black outer skin of the dal hasn't been removed. You'll often see this sold as "black urad dal."

Delicious recipe. If you make it in electric pressure cooker without soaking the beans first, cook for 40 min. If you follow the seasoning amounts, it is pretty bland...good, but bland. I liked it best with a ton of siracha and a dollop of yogurt.

I suggest adding kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) to the tadka. Gives an extra depth of taste.

Try it and report back! :) I was thinking of doing the same as I typically have the rest of the ingredients on hand but not cream. I've substituted greek yogurt for heavy cream in previous dal's with good success.

Use the immersion blender. Use less water. Small can of coconut cream works fine.

My Punjabi husband approved this dal. He

I substituted aduki beans and used fire-roasted diced tomatoes, both of which worked well.

Is there a good substitute for urad, which is not easily found in my small town? I don't care to order it, since I seldom order enough online to qualify for free shipping.

What changes would you make to the recipe if you cooked this in a large pot? And how long do you cook it? (::(( don't have a pressure cooker...)

Wonderful dish! I double the tarka and almost blacken the onions. They really make the dish pop. Also, I use only 3 cups water. I like a thicker dal so to get it to the right consistency I usually have to simmer it a good 20 minutes or so stirring often. Freezes well.

Delicious! Used a bit less oil and then added a tad as a topper to each bowl. Added about a tablespoon of Worcester to the pot which really deepened the flavor well. Used lemon, no vinegar. Topper: olive oil, parsley, grated parmesan. Yum!

Not only is this a delicious recipe, but there's another use for whole urad: sprouts. They are close relatives of mung beans, and like them, they can be easily sprouted at home for us in stir fries.

It’s a beautiful recipe, but I love spice, so I essentially doubled the amounts with some adjustments to taste. Decided to cook a whole onion as well, can’t really go wrong with more flavor in my book.

As others mentioned, half the liquid, use unsoaked beans, increase cooking time to 40 min. I added a green pepper for flavor. So easy and comforting.

Definitely yummy and also much too thin. Reduce the water for a thicker dal.

Perfect for a busy evening of soccer practices. Make some rice in the rice cooker, and people can eat whenever they happen to be in the kitchen. Didn't make the fried onions, but might make them when I have more time . Used coconut milk instead of whole milk. Served with a kachumber salad.

Careful with the immersion blender. You can end up with ‘soup’, missing all of the bean texture

Having read all the notes I heeded several person's notes that 4 cups water was too much. I decided to try 2.75 cups since the dahl and beans were very soaked. Wrong! High pressured 30 minutes. Waited 25 minutes for the pressure to release. Worked for the next hour scraping and scouring with steel wool to remove the firmly scorched dhal from the inside bottom of my pressure cooker. I will listen to the Master Madhur Jaffrey exactly next time and try again!

Any advice on timing if cooking in a traditional stovetop pot instead of a pressure cooker?

I see no reason not to make this in a stove-top pressure cooker if you lack an electric one. Time from the moment that the top jiggles and then set the heat so that the top jiggles gently throughout cooking.

Oh, and the tadka is all wrong. This is a dish from Punjab and Ms. Jaffrey is not Punjabi and doesn't get the basic concept of Dal Makhani. The best Indian cookbook I use is Prashad by Jiggs Kalra. I highly recommend it.

Soaking the dal overnight and then pressure cooking for 30 mins will give you mush. You don't need to soak it overnight, just pressure cook for 18 mins after the cooker starts hissing and lower the temperature. Second, Dal Makhani means dal with butter, not cream. Best tip: After cooking and tadka, drop 2-4 Tbsp of cold butter into the dal and mix with a stick blender. Do not let it come to a boil or the butter will separate.